


The Kids Don't Wanna Come Home

by Lyra_Dhani



Series: The Kids [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Brotherly Bonding, Brothers, Dysfunctional Family, Family, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Gen, The turtles wake up in AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:34:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 17,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22572559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyra_Dhani/pseuds/Lyra_Dhani
Summary: There was something weird about the family that just recently moved in next door. First of all, the new neighbor had four kids, quadruplet, and while Yoshi had met all the adorable little boys, he’d almost never seen any adults watching over them. Second, the boys were wise, way too mature for their age, it made Yoshi wondered what exactly they had gone through. Third, they all acted like they had known him for a very long time.(Or in which, one day, the turtle brothers woke up as human boys in a reality different from their own.)
Relationships: Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & Raphael (TMNT)
Series: The Kids [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740874
Comments: 158
Kudos: 313





	1. The New Neighbor

**I Them**

Sometimes the boys would come over to the dojo, watching from the sidelines. Their visits were frequent enough that all the Clan members remember their name. They might as well be honorary members because the elders in the dojo always doted on them and feed them pizza (their favorite) and tried to impress them. The younger members got along well enough but gathering that much attention was bound to garner hatred and envy, one that Yoshi was familiar with.

But it really couldn’t be helped.

After all, Leonardo was well-mannered, Raphael was tough, Donatello was intelligent, and Michelangelo was funny. And more than anything, they were mature for their age and it made their moment of childishness all the more precious.

It was less than a month since they moved in, but Yoshi already started treating them like his own sons.

.

.

**II Leonardo**

Leonardo was always watching. Sometimes he stood up in the corner, arms crossed in front of his chest with a tight expression in his face like he was waiting for a bomb to explode. And sometimes those very sharp blue eyes would sparkle when Space Heroes played in TV and all of a sudden, he was as young as he looked, no longer the responsible Leonardo that looked for everyone.

Raphael would always complain that the show suck and Donatello would question the logic and Michelangelo would say something silly and sometimes they would all laugh together.

But Leonardo, no matter how relaxed he looked on the outside, those sharp blue eyes were always, always watching.

“What is haunting you?” Yoshi once asked.

Leonardo had pursed his lips, looking away. “I wish I knew.”

.

.

**III Raphael**

The kids from the dojo had learned not to insult the brothers when Raphael was around. It was a lesson they learned the hard way.

A kid was beaten up and they all knew the culprit but couldn’t do anything about it because there were no evidence and the victim was too scared to tell the truth. The parent had complained about it, and the whole time, Leonardo lowered his head in shame, Donatello was fidgeting nervously and Michelangelo stood between his brothers with worried expression. Raphael, on the other hand, was more angry than anything, glaring at everyone who dared to accuse him.

In the end, the kid left the dojo and the elders pushed Yoshi to handle Raphael. He took the job reluctantly.

“But they wouldn’t do it,” Raphael said. “My brothers wouldn’t do it, that’s why it had to be me.”

Yoshi found himself unable to argue with that logic.

.

.

**IV Donatello**

**.**

In Father’s day, Donatello gave him a cheese phone, claiming he made it himself with the help of his brothers. He had looked down on his feet, looking shy. Donatella had never looked so young and childish. Few feet away behind him, his brothers were waiting with smiles on their face.

Yoshi exchanged a glance with Tang Shen who smiled overjoyously at him, her eyes said everything. _What are you waiting for? Take it_.

“Thank you, Donatello.”

But the best gift was, ultimately, the bright grin Donatello shot him, the gap between his tooth only made it all the more adorable.

.

.

**V Michelangelo**

**.**

Once, Michelangelo slipped up and accidentally called him _Splinter_. The name shouldn’t matter, if it weren’t for the surrounding reactions. Leonardo had immediately excused himself, ever so polite, followed by his brothers, leaving Yoshi confused and Tang Shen concerned.

The next day, Michelangelo came to his house very early in the morning. That alone was alarming enough, but Michelangelo was crying as well, Yoshi immediately ushered him inside, Tang Shen made a pizza just for him, and Miwa held Michelangelo’s hands until he stopped crying.

In the end, Michelangelo didn’t come for comfort. He came to ask for permission.

“Sure, Michelangelo,” Yoshi said. “You can call me Splinter.”

 _Whatever make you happy_.

Just a little, okay, maybe not a little, he felt jealous toward whoever Master Splinter was. From the way Michelangelo spoke of him, it was obvious that they really adored and respected him.

.

.

**VI Him**

**.**

In their first meeting with Oroku Saki, Michelangelo had hid behind his brother’s back with actual fear in his eyes. Raphael hissed when Saki took a step closer toward them, looking like he’d attack him right there and then if it weren’t for Leonardo standing in front of them. The oldest brother had stepped up in front of his younger brothers with a stone-cold expression as if shielding them from an enemy. Donatello’s eyes were trained on the door the whole time, his body languange screaming he wanted to be out of there.

Never before Yoshi ever saw them this scared. He saw Raphael screamed in high-pitched voice at cockroach once and he knew that Michelangelo was afraid of ghost but this was different. It wasn’t just simple childish fear.

They looked more like fallen warriors than children at the moment.

He catched Tang Shen’s eyes and they agreed wordlessly to never let Saki around the boys ever again.


	2. The Spliterson Brothers

**I First**

They were ten-years old human boys.

Donatello faked their documents and their identity and bought a house with fake credit cards, and for the first time ever, they could finally taste a relatively normal life. No ninjas chasing them, no mutants trying to kill them, no alients shooting lasers at them. It was peaceful.

It made Leonardo restless. It made Rapahel constantly confused. And Donatello was always looking for answer.

Michelangelo just wanted a home.

.

.

**II Name**

It took a very long time for them to pick up a surname. Raphael insisted on _Red Reign_ and Michelangelo wanted to take after celebrity’s name and Donatello wanted _O’Neil_ on the excuse that they should pick up familiar names.

The argued for a week, trashing half of the apartement in the process, decorating the kitchen wall with shuriken, and after too many sleepless nights, Leonardo decided he had enough. He picked up the name _Spliterson_ and glared at anyone who dared to argue back and then stomped back to his room.

His little brothers didn’t say it but they actually liked the surname he picked.

.

.

**III Food**

“I told you not to eat that,” Donatello chastised. “We’re humans now.”

“Go easy on him, Donnie,” Leonardo said with a sad tone, gently rubbing Michelangelo’s back. “We’re all still getting used to this.”

Michelangelo puked again. Raphael snorted.

.

.

**IV Weapons**

It was unspoken agreement that they should carry their weapons everywhere. Human or not, they didn’t feel safe without them. It also lessened Leonardo’s worry and cooled down Raphael’s temper.

Donatello ordered them online, using fake account and paying them with stolen money.

At night, they trained and went on patrol, pretending that nothing really changed. When the sun’s up, they learned to stay awake and mimic human lifestyle, they knew that everything was no longer the same.

.

.

**V Friends**

Raphael brought a turtle home. Michelangelo kept a stray cat. Donatello built a robot and dubbed it Metalhead 3.0.

They came to Leonardo for permission everytime and he’d always give in. After all, it wasn’t like he couldn’t feel the homesickness like the rest of his brothers, keeping him awake at nights as he looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling.

.

.

**VI Excuse**

“Where are your parents?” Splinter asked. It was a question they’d been expecting but was still dreaded to hear.

“They’re... uh...” Leonardo glanced nervously at Raphael.

“Busy...” Raphael murmured.

“...working...” Donatello looked away.

“Um... Er... In the Antartica!” Michelangelo gave his biggest grin.

Splinter raised an eyebrow at them before walking away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Michelangelo got scolded by his brothers.

“Antartica?! Seriously?!”

“Good job, Mikey.”

“We’re doomed.”

.

.

**VII Mother**

Donatello built a robot to pose as their mother. Leonardo cringed when he first saw it because the robot mechanical design was an imitation of Kraang tech and it brought back unpleasant memories.

Michelangelo was ecstatic. “We have a mother!”

Raphael rolled his eyes.

.

.

**VIII Time**

“It’s been two years,” Donatello said. He didn’t cry but they all could hear the desperation in his voice. Michelangelo sat by his side, leaning againts his shoulder.

Raphael kept his face stoic, breaking down slowly under the mask.

Leonardo looked down from the edge of the rooftop. He observed the city, very much the same with the one they left behind and yet so different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the story kind of contradicts the title but I literally named this fic after my favorite song and I thought it was a good title so sue me.  
> Also glad to know the fandom is alive!


	3. School

**I Kid**

“School?” Michaelangelo asked with his mouth full.

“We’re human now,” Leonardo said, looking bitter and sounded almost spiteful. “And human kids go to school.”

Raphael complained as always, claiming _schools are boring_ and Donatello was for once in his side, and Michaelangelo jumped to his oldest brother’s defense because Leonardo just looked so tired and few seconds away from drawing his swords.

In the end, they went to the closest school in the area. Miwa went to different school, she was devastated when she found out.

Donatello gave Leonardo a look because it was the leader’s idea. Still Donatello couldn’t argue with him because he too, was afraid of destroying Miwa’s chance of normal life.

“We’re too dangerous,” Raphael had said and they couldn’t say anything back.

.

.

**II Freak**

The brothers agreed that the school suck. They stick out like sore thumb and other kids avoided them like plague. Michaelangelo blamed Raphael’s scary eyes but really they were all just too different. After all, who would’ve liked the teacher’s pet Leonardo who was swooned by all the teacher staff for his polite manner and endearing adult-like tendencies. It helped that he was the only one who could calm Raphael down and stop Michaelangelo’s antics.

The students left Raphael alone for obvious reasons and even the bullies didn’t want to mess with him.

Donatello was too smart and Michaelangelo was too weird, nobody understand them.

Honestly not even Leonardo and Raphael could understand their younger brothers sometimes but they had put up with each other for years. They knew each other for their lifetime and that was more than enough to made up for it.

They were the freaks of the school.

Leonardo shrugged. They’d gone through worse.

.

.

**III Idol**

What the brothers didn’t know, while it was true that the students avoided them out of fear (in Raphael’s case) and envy (in Leonardo’s case), or staying away out of their path because they were weird (in Michelangelo’s case) and too smart (in Donatello’s case), it didn’t mean that they were hated. It was the opposite, in fact.

It was also purely because of major admiration and respect that people leave them alone.

Within a week, everybody already knew their names. They knew Raphael as the bully hunter, Leonardo as a honorable student, Donatello as the young prodigy and Michelangelo as the pollyanna.

What the brothers didn’t know, instead of freaks, they were adored as the popular kids.

.

.

**IV Turtle**

“I thought you’ll like school,” Leonardo murmured. “Pass me the ketchup, Raph.”

“I used to wish I can go to school,” Donatello said. He sounded irritated. “But now I think it’s a waste of time.”

They knew what he meant. The life as normal human was nice but in the end they all longed to go back to their reality, the one where they could kick butts and save the world.

“Take it slow, Donnie,” Michelangelo said, humming. “Besides the food in this cafetaria isn’t bad at all.”

“Anymore years in this shellhole and I seriously gonna reconsider raising Demodragon to get out of here.”

Raphael stabbed his meat with too much force than necessary. “I can’t believe I say this, but I agree with Donnie.”

Leonardo gave them an unimpressed look.

.

.


	4. Old, New

**I Leatherhead**

Mikey went to a birthday party and came back with a baby alligator. Leo only need to take one good look at it to recognize those kind eyes.

“Leatherhead?” He guessed, still in disbelief.

“Can I keep him, Leo?”

And just like when Raph had gone home with a turtle perched upon his shoulder and Donnie had introduced Metalhead to them as the newest addition on the family, Leo really had no choice but to say yes.

.

.

**II Timothy**

“Hey,” Mikey whispered. Donnie looked up from his math book. “Isn’t that the Pulverizer?”

Donnie snapped his head so fast he could hear a crack. And, indeed, in the direction Mikey not-so-secretly pointing, there was the Pulverizer standing, human and young and naive. And with that happy-go-lucky smile in face, Donnie remembered not-exactly-happy-memories. He hid his face behind his book in reflect. “No, don’t let him notice us. Let’s get out of here.”

For once, Mikey wordlessly agreed.

Donnie moved out of cafetaria, slipping between the students, Mikey was right by his side.

Somebody tapped his shoulder and Donnie swung his tray, ready to hit.

“Whoa, Donnie, it’s me,” Leo put up his arms in peaceful gesture.

Beside him, Raphael crossed him arm, looking at them with raised eyebrow. “What spook you, guys?”

“It’s him,” Mikey said, half-whispering and half-hysterical. “It’s the Pulverizer.”

It really said a lot about Timothy that Leo’s face instantly went pale at the mention of his nickname.

Raphael grabbed his arms. “Well, then, what are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

Later, they agreed to avoid the Pulverizer at all costs. Donnie, especially, didn’t want to meet him again. This time around, he didn’t want Timothy to be his responsibility.

.

.

**III Murakami**

Mikey came across the japanese restaurant on complete accident. The restaurant was small and homely and just as exactly as he remembered it. Murakami, though, while looked mostly the same and as blind as ever, he looked younger and thinner than the one his memory.

“Welcome,” Murakami said, his voice so gentle and soothing Mikey felt like he could cry. Next time, he’d definitely come back here with his brothers.

.

.

**IV Karai**

“My name is Karai. Oroku Karai,” the little girl said. She was watching them, gauging for their reaction. “I am Saki’s adopted daughter.”

Raph glanced at Leo who at the moment looked like the perfect picture of calmness. Or at least, that was how he appeared to be on the outside. He knew better though.

Behind Karai, Yoshi looked apologetic. He was probably dreading this meeting just as much as Raph was, knowing how much the presence of Oroku Saki affecting them, particularly how it wrapped itself around Leo’s neck, choking him until he ran out of air.

Raph stepped forward, shielding his brother. “The name’s Raphael. This is my brother, Leonardo.”

He bared his teeth, challenging.

Karai looked amused. “It’s nice meeting you.”

And the tension was broken with the arrival of oblivious Miwa. “Who is this, Father?”

Shredder’s adopted daughter bowed politely. “I am Karai.”

Miwa gasped. “Oh, you’re Uncle Saki’s daughter!”

It was kind of hurting his head to see Miwa and Karai talking to each other in friendly manner. For a long time, Raphael had referred Miwa as Karai. He never called her anything other than that. He didn’t have time to dwell on this however.

“Welp, look at the time, Donnie said he’s gonna need us for... uh.. something, right, Leo?” He elbowed Leo.

His Fearless Leader nodded mutely.

“Ah, yes, please give my regards to your mother,” Yoshi nodded sharply at him.

Raphel left without another words, not looking back.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be careful out there guys. Take care of your health <3


	5. Mother

**I an observant father**

Leonardo fought better than a pro, more mature than most adults, and probably one of the most brilliant person that Yoshi ever met in his life. The same could be applied to his brothers, of course. The Spliterson family were kind of famous in the area. Each brothers had their own unique traits that made them stood as equals instead of shadowing each other.

Leonardo didn’t have Donatello’s genius brain or Raphael’s pure strength or Michelangeo’s agility, but it soon became obvious that he was the one in control over his brothers, which really said a lot about his leadership.

After all, despite their wisdom and maturity, Raphael was very stubborn with his ego as high as the moon, Donatello could be a nervous wreck sometimes, and Michelangelo was basically a loose cannon. In fact, it was kind of a miracle that Leonardo still had his sanity intact.

It was strange how Leonardo was the only one who Raphael listened to (albeit grudgingly), the one who always watched out for Mikey, the one Donatello always mentioned for important decisions.

Yoshi wondered whether it had something to do with being the oldest brother, or the one with parent’s responsibility.

As Yoshi discussed this with Mrs. Spliterson, the woman just smiled at him. The very same eerie inhuman smile that Yoshi saw everyday.

He smiled back, hoping she didn’t notice his hands shaking with anger and disgust. Even though she noticed, she probably wouldn’t ask. She never said a word.

.

.

**II a furious mother**

Unlike her husband, who wanted to maintain good relationship with their neighbors, Tang Shen made it as clear as possible how much she hated the Spliterson couple. She’d seen Michelangelo on grecory store when the kid barely turned six years old, alone and small in the ocean of adults.

Anyone could have kidnapped him right there and then and take him far away.

When Tang Shen confronted him, Michelangelo only blinked up at her with confused expression. “Oh, but I am not alone.”

He pointed somewhere to his left and just then Tang Shen noticed that Leonardo was there too, a few feet away, examining a cereal box with a frown. The oldest brother glanced at them, then looked down at the box in his hand, then did a double take.

“Michelangelo,” Tang Shen said, doing her best to keep smiling even thought right now she really wanted to punch someone in the face. “Where’s your mother?”

“Mother’s at home,” Michelangelo easily answered. He sounded far too casual for a kid doing grocery without adult’s supervision.

“And why are you here without your mother?”

“Huh,” Michelangelo mused. “Does mother usually accompany their kids to grocery store?”

Tang Shen didn’t know what was going on in Leonardo’s mind, but he looked very alarmed.

She went back home, abandoning her grocery and bringing the kids with her, and the only reason she didn’t slap the woman who dared to call herself a mother was because Donatello was there too, looking very nervous, eyes darting between them with warning.

Tang Shen almost cried then. It was obvious in the way Donatello ready to jump between them that this woman was preciously loved, even though she didn’t deserve any of it.

.

.

**III a concerned friend**

The Splinterson brothers never talked about their home situation, so Casey wasn’t really sure what to expect when Donnie suggested to do the tutoring sessions in his home. He always suspected that something was off about their mother from the few times he’d seen her, but then again the brothers themselves weren’t exactly normal.

When he rang the doorbal, it was a grumpy-looking Raph who opened the door. “Oh, it’s just you,” he said and didn’t say anything else.

In the kitchen, Mikey was cooking something vaguely resembling pasta. Leo who sat in front of the television, turned and gasped when he saw him.

“Casey!” the oldest Spliterson grinned. “Donatello didn’t say you’d come over.”

Another weird thing about the Spliterson brothers, they were kind of distant to other kids but seemed to be generally more welcoming towards him. Casey would love to brag about it, but he knew how hard the others competing to have his spot, saying something about it would only make him the enemy of the entire school. That would have been too bothersome. 

He stayed at their house until late at night and never once he saw even a tiny glimpse of Mrs. Spliterson.

When he asked Raph about it the next day, he snapped at him, “It’s none of your business.”

Then, with a slumped shoulder, he sighed. “Look, it doesn’t matter. it’s not her job to look after my brothers. It’s _mine_.”

Casey stared. _Oh_ , he thought, his mind came to a not-entirely-false conclusion like everyone else who had meet Mrs. Spliterson and wrongly put two and two together. _No wonder Raph is so violently protective of his brothers._

.

.

**IV in the topic of the children**

Donnie patted his-so-called ‘Mother’. Tang Shen had dropped by and generously gifted them with luxury beef earlier. She had glared at Mother before leaving, probably thinking that he wouldn’t notice. “It’s alright, you don’t do anything wrong. Tang Shen is just a very sensitive mother.”

“Shouldn’t we upgrade her?” Raph asked with his mouth full.

“Hey, dude,” Mikey pointed at him with his fork. “She can hear you.”

Raph rolled his eyes.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I forgot to tell you about Karai in the previous chapter, I was preoccupied with the news of the colleges closing. And since then I have already guessed the possibility that the two-weeks 'holiday' would scretch into a month. Not that I can call it a holiday at all. Online class sucks -_-
> 
> She's actually Karai from the 2003 series. I didn't remember much about that series honestly, I was really small when it aired on TV, but I looked up TV Tropes and when I read about her, i was inspired to write her in this


	6. Observation

**I Xever**

At a glance, the boy looked ordinary. He had handsome feature and piercing green eyes, otherwise nothing about his appearance stood out. But now that Xever observed him closely, the boy had body built for fighting and quiet steps belonged to a high-skilled assasin, he could see why his Master wanted to recruit the boy and his brothers to Foot Clan. Still, Xever didn’t see anything special enough from the boy for him to warrant special private invitation. 

At the end of the day, he was just an ordinary kid who could threw a few punch.

The boy suddenly stopped in a small dark alley. Xever had a bad feeling.

“Come out, whoever you are,” Raphael Spliterson said with a low growl.

The kid had guts, Xever had to admit that. He came out of his hiding place. Raphael tilted his head, a strange flash of recognition going through his face before it was replaced with a glare. Hah, _if looks could kill_. Xever raised his hands in peaceful gesture.

“Relax, I am not a suspicious person.”

“Yeah, you totally didn’t sound like a suspicious person, at all,” the Spliterson kid rolled his eyes. He didn’t seem scared that he was confronting a stranger alone in a dark alley. Either because he was way over his head or he had every reason to be confident.

Xever was definitely not gonna find out. “I have an offer for you.”

“An offer?” A new voice said and Xever whirled around to see a pair of brilliant blue eyes staring back at him. The oldest Spliterson brother was casually leaning againts the wall with his hands crossed in front of his chest.

 _Oh_ , Xever cursed inwardly. Now that he thought about it, the brothers were rarely alone. This was a trap. A clever one. He could see why Master had to go as far as to send _him_ to invite these kids.

“My Master, Oroku Saki, wants you.”

Leonardo Spliterson tensed. He heard Raphael let out a sharp breath. Master did say that they seemed to be overly cautious of him for some reason. Not that Xever could blame them. He could imagine how Master would look intimidating next to Hamato Yoshi from a kid’s point of view.

“He wants you and your brothers to join the Foot Clan.”

“No,” Raphael said, firm and leaving no tone for argument. It was flat-out rejection. He didn’t even bother to ask what the Foot clan was or what was their purpose.

Xever ignored him and waited for Leonardo to answer. He’d followed them for a week now, he could see that it was Leonardo’s opinion that mattered the most. Leonardo seemed to notice this.

“You heard him,” Leonardo said.

Well, Xever was only as a messenger. He stepped away to leave but the next thing he knew, he was slammed againts the wall, a sai was pressed dangerously close to his neck. “If I ever see you around me or my brothers again, I’ll pluck your eyeballs out, understand?”

Xever sneered. “Crystal clear.”

He tried to leave without looking like a headless kitchen but it seemed he failed miserably. When he looked back, Michelangelo and Donatello were there too, talking and whispering something to their older brothers. He hadn’t notice their presence, at all.

.

.

**II Miyamoto Usagi**

Usagi could reconize the Spliterson brothers as soon as they entered the dojo. They had different aura and atmosphere, it was not hard to distinguish them from everyone else. He shared a glance with Hamato Yoshi who nodded at him, confirming his guess.

He decided to approach them. The kid with green eyes was the first who looked up.

“Hello,” he greeted. “I am Miyamoto Usagi.”

“Miyamoto-?” the tallest brother echoed with the smallest hint of recognition in his voice.

“You’ve heard of me?” Usagi raised an eyebrow. As a loner who didn’t belong to any clan, he didn’t expect the youngsters to know him.

“Miyamoto Usagi-san, I am Leonardo Spliterson,” Leonardo introduced himself smoothly. “These are my brothers.”

“I know,” Usagi smiled. “Yoshi likes to talk about you.”

“He does?” The shortest kid looked up at him with wide grin. How adorable. Usagi could see why everyone here was whipped by their charm.

“Are you interested in joining the dojo?” Usagi asked, straight-forward.

“No,” Leonardo said, almost too quickly. “We’re not interested.”

It didn’t seem to be a lie but Usagi could see from the nervouse smile that Donatello and Michelangelo shared and the way Raphael pointedly looked down at his shoes that there was something they hid. It was not his place to dig around, however.

“Then, do you want to spar with me?” Usagi said.

Leonardo’s blue eyes were glinting. Michelangelo and Donatello glanced at each other, a playful smile in their lips.

“This should be interesting,” he heard Raphael murmured.

“Just one time,” Leonardo agreed.

People were watching now. The elders with curiousity and the youngsters with giddy anticipation. These brothers sure knew how to gather attention. Raphael passed a wooden sword to Leonardo who accepted it with eager smile.

“Show him, Fearless,” Raphael punched Leonardo’s shoulder playfully.

When Leonardo stepped up to face Usagi, his smile turned into something more somber. At this point, everyone in the dojo had stopped training to watch them from the sidelines.

Leonardo went to attacked first. He swung his sword with cold precision, a strike intended for an end. It said a lot about his character. A calm demeanor covering hot-blooded temperament and stubbornness. The spar seemengly lasted for eternity before Usagi finally got sweeped off his feet and landed not-so-gracefully on his butt. It was a dirty move on Leonardo’s part but then again the boy seemed to fight like a soldier on the battlefield, as if losing brought a certain death.

“It was a good fight,” Leonardo said.

Usagi whole-heartedly agreed. The oldest brother went back to his brothers' side, who each gave him high-five and a pat on the back. The heartwarming sight eased his hurting pride a little.

Usagi went to the other side other room, noting that everyone was staring in awed silence, and raised an eyebrow at Yoshi who looked as stunned as the rest.

"I had an inkling," Yoshi said in daze. "But I didn't know..."

"Understandable," Usagi nodded. "Did you notice that-"

"I do," his best friend cut in sharply. "He's not one-sword type wielder, isn't he?"

He smiled. "You have interesting neighbor, Yoshi. You mind if I visit?"

.

.

**III Casey Jones**

The plan was to ask April to tutor him and then she'd fall for his charm and wits in no time.

It didn't work. Mostly because he didn't take into account that April would drag Donatello Spliterson into this.

The Spliterson brothers usually kept to themselves, he didn't expect April of all people to make acquintance with them. And when April requested Donatello to teach them both, he most certainly didn't expect Donatello to say yes.

Though perhaps the most surprising thing that came out of this whole mess was the fact that Casey managed to get along well with them. Judging from the looks people gave him when he passed the hall with the brothers, the rest of the school seemed to agree that he shouldn't belong.

But the thing was, neither of the brothers were as perfect as the rumours painted them to be.

Leo could be as silly as his brothers sometimes. On rare occasion, Raph had proved himself that he was not just a raging ball of anger. For a genius, Donnie was one of the dumbest person he ever met. And then there was Mikey who was so scatterbrained it could become annoying.

But Casey agreed that they were awesome. He knew this with certainty. It was not just his hallucination that Mikey could easily catch a pencil thrown in his direction without even looking up or that for someone so well-known, Donnie could disappear in a blink of eyes.

"Dude, you're like a ninja," Casey blurted out in one of their tutoring session. He meant it as a joke but he catched flash of panic in Donnie's eyes as the other boy looked away too quickly.

"Yeah, but there's no way I am a ninja right?" Donnie's laugh was dry and humourless.

.

.

**IV Chris Bradford**

The Spliterson brothers had become the talk of the Foot Clan. Highly-talented kids that refused Master Shredder’s personal invitation on spot, it was now the popular gossip that everyone kept talking about. Chris Bradford was confused, and angry, but mostly confused. He didn’t understand how anyone could reject Master Shredder.

The topic itself was interesting and this was the reason why he could instantly recognize the four kids marching his dojo.

They seemed to come looking for him specifically because as soon as they spotted him, two of them approached him while the other two hung back, seemingly taking the stock of the situation.

“Chris Bradford,” the shortest kid said. “I am Michelangelo Spliterson. I need to tell you something.”

Chris tilted his head. “Yes?”

The other kid shoved a poster up his face. “You need to kick this kid out of your dojo.”

He said it with a note of solemnity, like he was talking about life and death and the end of the world. It was unnerving to see such expression in a young face. He studied the picture. It was the photo of the newest member. Chris only remembered his face because the kid was such a total failure that it made him wondered why he even bothered in the first place. “Why?”

“He’s useless,” the kid said bluntly. “He’s slow on his feet and he makes a mess and-“

The tall kid-Donatello Spliterson-was basically babbling non-stop. Beside him, his younger brother was fidgeting. Chris took notes of their anxious expression and nervous gestures.

Slowly, he smiled.

Donatello’s voice faltered in respond.

“I get it,” he said.

“You do?” Michelangelo brightened. Donatello, on the other hand, looked very worried.

“How about a duel?”

Michelangelo’s face fall. Donaello straightened his back. “A duel,” he echoed with uncertainty.

“If you win I’ll kick this kid out. And if I win, you-“ he pointed to Donatello. “-have to join the dojo.”

And if what Xever said about the brothers was right, then there was absolutely no way they would let one of them joining alone. Donatello seemed to realize this. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Michelangelo stepped between them.

“I am in.”

“ _What?_ ” Donatello pulled him away. “No, Timothy is my responsibility-“

Michelangelo scowled. “-no, he’s not-“

“-you can’t-“

“-part of this family too-“

Chris coughed. The brothers snapped their head at him. Donatello narrowed his eyes. “Fine. Leo will kill you if you mess this up.”

“No, Raph will kill _you_ for getting involved in the first place.”

Then Michelangelo pulled out a pair of nun-chucks. Chris squinted hard at him. “You’ve come prepared?”

No ordinary kids would bring a pair of nun-chucks everywhere for no reason. Michelangelo smiled sheepishly. Donatello walked back to his older brothers. He didn’t look worried at all. In fact, it looked like he was entirely unconcerned with the outcome. Chris couldn’t decide whether it was a good news or not.

Ten minutes later, he sat on the corner, nursing his bruised face. The Spliterson brothers were definitely anything but good news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make quick update. I was contemplating on hiatus at least until I am done with my thesis, scratch that, until I am done with college and find a job and maybe become useful functioning adult in society. But with the accumulated stress, I make excuse to myself that these ideas kept popping up in my head is not a distraction, but an outlet for me to vent my frustation.   
> So, yeah, I am still here and probably will update in a week or so. Hope you like this chapter  
> Also, is there anyone here from my country who can offer me writing job or perhaps translating job? This long not-holiday kind of made me feel like a freeloader


	7. Girls

**I Miwa**

The Spliterson brothers used to call her Karai before a girl with the same name arrived in their doorstep. They called her by her real name afterward. Miwa didn’t mind but she wished she could understand the meaning behind the name.

Sometimes Leo slipped up and called her Karai and it really drove her crazy because Leo would always have this distant look in his face as he apologized.

The real Karai was pretty and tough and a hardcore ninja just like her adopted father. She had a rocky start with the brothers but as time went by, they had learned to tolerate her presence. They even started to train together at some point, or so Karai claimed. It bugged her for some reason.

She decided to join the dojo and when middle school rolled around, she dyed her hair and changed her style. She wanted to be different. She wanted to show to ~~Leo~~ everyone that she was different. Her father murmured _teenagers_ while her mother smiled sweetly and whispered _youth_.

Miwa kept it a secret from the brothers that she applied to the same middle school.

When they met each other at the school hall, Leo was so shocked he dropped his books. “Miwa?”

She smirked.

.

.

**II Renet**

Renet noticed that Mikey had always been surrounded by people. Everytime he walked the school hall, the other kids always made small talk with him, even the teachers didn’t hold back their fondness. Leonardo was like that too, although he was more closed-off and distant, keeping everyone else behind wall of politeness. Mikey was the same in that regard, but at least he was honest and open and sincere, his bright smile was just as true as everything he kept to himself.

He was just so different from his brothers. Raph was constantly scowling and Donnie was too awkward to be around so many people.

And for that kind of Mikey, who was adored by everyone, to always notice _her_ first before everyone else, Renet felt her heart beat faster.

.

.

**III April**

“Oh,” Donatello Spliterson said, scratching his cheek. “Um, hello, I am Donatello Spliterson.”

He said it in adorably awkward way, as if the the whole school didn’t know his name. April smiled back in reflect. “April O’Neil,” she said, feeling a little shy. “Mr. Honeycutt said you’re going to tutor me? Are you really fine with it?”

“Yeah, it’s fine, I am totally fine. With it, I mean.” Donatello murmured, not looking at her face and fiddling his fingers.

April honestly didn’t expect this. That behind the title of young prodigy that everyone kept talking about, Donatello was just an awkward skinny kid. It was honestly kind of cute.

.

.

**IV Mona Lisa**

“What did you say your name was?” Raphael Spliterson snickered. She felt her face burned in both embrassment and rage. She repeated her name again. Her name amused him, apparently. “That’s too hard to pronounce.”

She opened her mouth to throw some scathing remark, but Raph was already talking again. “I’ll just call you Mona.”

“Mona?” she said, more confused than anything.

“Mona Lisa,” Raphael said. Then he left, still smiling in amusement. “See you around, Mona.”

Mona Lisa, the beautiful smiling girl. She decided that she liked the nickname.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t write down Mona Lisa’s name at all.   
> Also, I keep the timeline of this fic intentionally vague, but for this chapter, I’d just make it clear it all happened before they entered middle school, except for Leo and Miwa’s scene.


	8. Trouble

**I**

When Raph came to his sense, there were two guys twice his height squirming pathetically like worms in the ground, beaten and bruised and, if the smell was any indication, pissing their pants. They were lucky they weren’t annoying enough for Raph to break their legs. They got up, supporting each other’s weight, and ran like the losers they were.

Raph looked at his bloodied hands. If he came home like this, Leo would definitely noticed. He had to to explain that he was, in fact, not looking for trouble. Those guys were the one who started it. Raph didn’t even mean to beat them up. What was he supposed to do when they tried to rob him and charged ahead with a baseball bat? Raph had simply defended himself on instinct.

 _“Don’t reveal yourself at night,”_ Leo had told them, when they first (re)started their nightly patrols. And then he had continued with a wry smile, _“I imagine children loitering alone would look as suspicious as man-sized humanoid turtles.”_

Raph could already hear Leo’s voice in his mind, stating, _“I told you so.”_

He could picture the pinched look on his face too (one that surprisingly resembled Hamato Yoshi’s). He stayed until late to clean the blood from his hands, get rid of the smell, and change his clothes. When he went back home, Leo simply raised an eyebrow, “What happened to your clothes?”

Raph easily lied, making up stories about falling into a big pile of mud.

.

.

**II**

The house was quiet. Too quiet. Five minutes later, Donnie found out why. Somebody had painted his bedroom’s wall with threats. Great.

“The Purple Dragon is holding EV4 hostage,” he announced in the living room.

Leo turned to Raph, who at least had the grace to look guilty. “I didn’t know they were Purple Dragon.”

At Donnie and Mikey who both rolled his eyes at him, Raph turned devensive, “I swear they were the one who started it first.”

“We will save her, right?” Donnie swallowed.

Leo’s face softened. “Of course.”

Of course.

How could he forget? This was their life. In the end, Raph was right. He didn’t look for trouble. Trouble had always managed to find their way back to them. Donnie strapped the bo-staff to his back. Even with the anxiety riding his shell, with the weight of his weapon in his back, for the first time in a long while, he felt truly like himself.

.

.

**III**

Donnie had planted self-destruct program in Mother’s database in case something like this happen. He explained to Raph and Leo that it would look too suspicious, not to mention inconvenient, if they ever used it, but Mikey knew it was just an excuse. Donnie loved all his robots the same way Mikey was attached to the concept of a mother.

“Come on, Mother,” Mikey said, reaching out his hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

And he really liked Mother’s smile. “Yes, Michelangelo.”

.

.

**IV**

Leo wondered whether it was just coincidence that he happened to eat alone in Murakami’s place when Karai slid down beside him, clearly making herself comfortable.

“Karai,” he greeted.

“Leo,” Karai said pleasantly. “I heard your Mother was taken hostage by the Purple Dragon.”

Leo narrowed his eyes. The fact that Karai, and by extension, the Foot Clan, knew about this was unexpected, but not at all surprising. He kept his face purposefully blank, not saying a word.

Karai continued watching him, curling her lip a little. “We can give you protection, if you want.”

What a sweet girl. Maybe if she didn’t have a messed-up adopted father, they would get along well. The implication of her words didn’t lost on him though.

“I appreciated it,” Leo smiled. Then without meaning to, his voice turned colder. “But, no.”

Karai flinched. “Why?”

Leo avoided her eyes. _Because I still have nightmares_. _Because when I look at your father, I remember_.

“Because I am strong enough,” he said instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a completely unrelated note, today is the first day of Ramadhan! This year’s Ramadhan going to be different for sure, what’s with Corona and all but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s the holy month! Happy fasting, brothers and sisters <3\. And yeah I specifically update today just to say that, though it probably comes off weird considering the tone of this chapter, my bad


	9. Mother Figure

I Family

When she was first created, her program was only consisted of the most basic codes. Her creator had upgraded her four times before she finally started getting self-awareness and learning to properly emote human expressions.

Her role was to be a caretaker and the housekeeper.

As time went on, she became something more. She had become part of the family.

.

.

II Cheerful

“Mother, can you sing me a lullaby?”

She smiled. Statistically speaking, most grown kids became embrassed by their parent’s public display of affection due to unstable emotions triggered by puberty. It was not the first time Mikey or his brothers’ actions diverged from the data but this aspect of Mikey’s personality always brought out the bubbling side-effect in her that the human defined as ‘joy’.

She started singing, and Mikey closed his eyes, humming along. When she finished the song, Mikey hadn’t fully sleep yet.

“Is something bothering you, Michelangelo?”

Mikey smiled at her. Three years ago, when she was first brought out into this world, she wouldn’t understand the meaning behind his smile. Now with Donatello’s internal installation, she learned that smiling was not always an expression of happiness. Therefore, she could conclude that despite the smile, Mikey was not happy.

“It’s Donnie,” He let out a sigh. “He always works too hard. Today he spends all day in front of his computer. His eyes will deteriote at this rate.” His eyes were wide as he looked up at her. “Can you tell him to not getting his face so close to the monitor? The radiation is bad for his eyes. And tell him not to watch his computer in the dark. And make sure that he rests his eyes too.”

She saved Mikey’s words as a delayed command in her program.

“Okay, Michelangelo.”

Mikey smiled.

.

.

II Smart

“Don’t get so close to the monitor. Radiation is bad your eyes. Don’t watch the computer in the dark.”

His creator’s eyes were wide. He appeared to be bewildered. But slowly, he turned to smile at her. “Got it. Thank you, EV4.”

Then he ran a hand through his messy dark hair. She studied his face and appearance.

“Donatello, you’re showing sympsons of stress.”

Donatello winced. “No, I am okay.”

At her raised eyebrow-she learned that human did that sometimes to express doubt-he shook his head, smiling. “Really, I am fine. If there’s anyone that we should be worried about, it’s Leonardo.”

He sighed after mentioning his oldest brother. She had long learned that family relationship and every feelings associated with it could be very complicated. At the surface, human emotion was as simple as chemistry tables. But then you mixed one and another and then you got something new out of it.

“I wish he gives himself a break,” Donnie continued to muse. “He does night-patroling like us but he also keeps it up with his part-time job and...”

He lowered his head. “He always checks up on us. He encourages Mikey’s pursuit in his artistic hobby and he persistently asks Raph to join the footbal team, he wants me to take my advanced class seriously.”

He paused, glancing at the family photo hanging in his bedroom wall, the only photo framed in his room.“I wish he thinks more about himself.”

She blinked. She just noticed that she saved Donatello’s word in her program.

.

.

III Responsible

When she activated the command, Leonardo, who was in the middle of traning, appeared to be confused. Then he chuckled lightly. “Eva, I know how to take care of myself.”

Then, he lowered his sword. He seemed to be lost in thought, as human usually did when they had something bothering them. “I am not the one who has trouble sleeping.”

.

.

IV Loving

Raph, unlike his brother, didn’t seem to be aware of her presence in the house. Mikey had told her that Raph was ignoring her on purpose because he was being a jerk but Mikey was half-wrong in his observation. She had analyzed Raph’s behaviour and come to the conclusion that Raph simply couldn’t show his affection properly, unlike his brothers. She couldn’t figure out why but she decided to just rule it out as the fault of human complexity.

And so when she delivered the herbal tea on Leo’s favor, she had expected the growl and the lack of trust.

She didn’t expect Raph to accept it easily however. Human always managed to outdo her calculation.

“Hey, Mikey adores you, right?” His eyes narrowed. “Maybe if you’re the one who scolds him, he’ll listen.”

“Mikey’s attitude never require any scoldings.”

Raph actually laughed. “Ha, good one. He sleeps after he eats. Keep that up and he’s going to get diabetes. And he needs to watch out for what he eats. We’re not mutants anymore. You’d thought he learned his lesson already.”

“Okay.”

Raph smiled. “I am so glad Donnie created you,” he paused. “Don’t tell Donnie.”

She smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yey, quick update! Probably subconciously inspired by Umbrella Academy and its character, Diego the Momma boy. (Where’s season2, Netflik) Also inspired by me and my brother who keep going back and forth like this too.
> 
> Me: don’t sleep after eating, at least wait until 3 hours  
> Lil bro: *not even moving an inch from sleeping position*  
> Later  
> Lil bro: *push my handphone far away from my eyes* you’re reading it too close  
> Me: *get it even closer to my eyes just to spite him*  
> Heh, siblings, right?


	10. Conflict

I

Mikey still remembered the earliest accident back when they were still adjusting to the semi-normal life.

The worst thing about the whole thing was, Raph didn't mean it. No matter how many times he threatened to crack their head open, Raph had never meant to intentionally harm any of them. Mikey didn't have to see the sick realization on his brother's face to know that.

Things just blew out of proportion.

They fought all the time, it was common to wake up to the sound of Donnie and Raph arguing or to see Leo stomping away angrily or to hear Raph throwing insults. That was just how his life had always been, as a mutant or not.

And eighty percent of those fight ended up physical, without Splinter to separate them and tell them to behave. Raph was usually the iniator, though in rare case, Donnie and Leo snapped quicker than he was. But in most case, Raph was, in fact, not the provocator. He was the one with the short fuse, sure, but it didn't mean he'd get worked up over nothing.

And Donnie...

That day, Donnie had been in one those foul mood where he'd rudely swear and complained and just generally being a jerk. He’d just failed another attempt at creating a portal that should have brought them to their home dimension. He'd worked hard and the project blew up in his face. It had been a pitiful day for him. Leo and Mikey tolerated him, cutting him some slacks.

Raph couldn't. It was just not in his nature. Looking back, the fight that followed have been inevitable.

Maybe that was why Leo didn’t bother stopping them. He was just tiredly standing in the sideline, but still, he was the one who get a plate fall down to his soft-shelled human head, the plate in the top shelf that Raph accidentally knocked over with his thrown sai.

Seconds later, Leo was lying unconcious, bleeding all over their carpet, and Raph had went still like a statue. It was the first time Mikey saw so much red on his oldest brother.

What happened after that was a blur but he knew he was crying the whole time.

After that day, the fights significantly decreased.

Everytime Raph snapped, he'd glanced at Leo then he became very quiet. And Donnie would always retreated to his room everytime he got stressed out.

They all still carried the weight of guilt. Mikey for not stopping the fight, Donnie for his lack of emotional control, and Raph for throwing the first punch. Leo, too, Mikey suspected, though he coped better than they did.

They all still fought from time to time. Just because they were now ended up in an alternate world and had nobody else beside each other and going through traumatic experience together one after another didn't mean that all their issues magically disappear.

But, Raph had stopped iniating violence and they all had learned to appreciate each other better after witnessing firsthand how fragile their human body could be.

The scar was still there, of course, both physically on Leo’s case, and mentally on everyone else’s. Sometimes, Raph became emotionally withdrawn, Donnie literally fall apart, and Mikey had the disturbing imagination of so much blood dripping off Leo's face.

Mikey was optimistic, though. Maybe one day they could go back to their old life, with the kunoichi April and ass-kicking Casey. For now, he counted what he had in his hands and learned to treasure every single moment of them.

.

.

II

“Are you and your brothers fighting or something?” Casey asked. He meant for the question to be phrased as casual as possible but Raph’s whole body tensed as if he just got thrown into a battlefield full of alligators.

Raph eyed him warily. “What gives you the idea?”

Casey stared at him hard, then pointedly glanced at Leonardo who hung out with Wachowski’s group before landing his gaze on Mikey who ate at the corner and surrounded by his peers. Donnie was nowhere to be seen. The Spliterson brothers didn’t always eat together in one table but this particular seating had been happening for three days in a row. And then there was that awkward atmosphere around them everytime they did so much as catch each other’s eyes. At this point, it was hard not to notice.

“Fine, I get your point,” Raph said sullenly. He took a deep breath. “Mikey and Leo had an argument.” He paused, a bitter look in his face. “I might have made it worse.”

“Mikey and Leo?!” Casey exclaimed disbelievingly.

Spliterson brothers having a fight was not exactly uncommon. In fact, Casey got a front seat in a few of their ugly disputes, which had been an eye-opener at how imperfect the brothers actually were. They had a lot of issues and it seemed to be ultimately tied with the bonds they had with one another. Casey didn’t know why Donnie was always so cautious with his surrounding or why Mikey had this faraway distant look in his face one too many times or the reason behind Raph’s sleeping trouble, but he knew this: it was something that the four of them could only share with each other.

And because of that, Mikey always glanced at his brothers worriedly when he thought no one was looking which would annoy them if they catched it, and Leo was practically the full-on mother hen of the brothers which irritated them to no end, and Raph seemed to be incapable of saying anything without coming across as a jerk.

The point was, it didn’t matter what they were doing, a fight would inevitably happen. Mikey and Leo, though, was a different case. Casey had never once heard Mikey raised his voice againts Leo, even though he did whine a lot and make sarcastic remarks here and there, and in return, Leo trusted Mikey to always be by his side.

No wonder they resorted to silent treatment instead of their usual nasty verbal fight.

“Man, what happened?” He asked, fully alert now that he catched the magnitude of their problem.

“Leo killed a wild dog,” Raph said, resolutely looking at anything but Casey’s face. “It leaped at Mikey and Leo just-“ he made a choked noise. “He just acted on his instinct, I was sure, but Mikey was devastated.” He lowered his head. “I lashed out. I told Mikey he was being an ugrateful shellhole because Leo was just trying to protect his weak shell. But I was actually pissed off for the dog too. I ended up calling Leo a cold-blooded killer to his face.”

“Dude.”

Raph flinched. He looked pitiful, avoiding his gaze like that. Casey was torn between chewing him out or comforting him. He sighed. “Raph, you know that you screwed up badly right?”

Raph didn’t answer. He didn’t talk anymore and his food was mostly untouched. Casey decided that enough was enough. When he left, Raph didn’t seem to notice, too deep in his thought. Casey was quite sure he had been drowning in his guilt for these last three days.

Donnie was in the library, alone and quiet, anyone passing by could have mistaken him as a glorious statue.

“Donnie,” Casey slid down at the seat beside him. “You have to do something about your brothers.”

Donnie seemed caught off-guard, more at his words than his unannounced presence. “Mikey told you?”

“I asked Raph.”

Besides, the whole school had noticed their silent lack of exchange.

“Oh,” Donnie said. It was brief but Casey catched the scratchy pain in his voice. “I don’t know how to fix it either, Casey.”

“You can’t just let them like this!” Some heads were snapping sharply at them. Casey couldn’t bring himself to care.

“You don’t understand,” Donnie shook his head hopelessly. “I really don’t know. I wish I knew. I wish I noticed the dog before Leo. I wish-“

He broke off. Then, with a hurtful tone, he whispered, “I wish Splinter was here.”

Casey couldn’t help but gaped. It was the first time he heard Donnie ever admitting he needed outside help. This Splinter must have been an insanely super capable guy.

“Where is he?” He asked before the implication of past tense finally got registered in his head.

Donnie smiled vacantly. “He’s dead.”

“Oh.”

It explained a lot actually. He studied Donnie’s face. Raph wasn’t the only one with heavy circles under his eyes. Donnie looked even more pitiful than Raph, here reading alone, isolating himself from everyone else.

“I am sorry,” He said. They kept quiet after that.

In the end, there was nothing he could do. And yet, without his intereference, the brothers managed to patch things up on their own. Two days after the awkward talk, Leo was seen talking with Mikey again and they now all ate together as if nothing ever happened. Casey could practically hear the whole school collectively let out a sigh of a relief for this happy turn of event.

Casey could tell that there were scars run deep, scars that still bleed if you do so much as poke at them, and once again he was reminded how imperfectly human the Spliterson brothers were.

.

.

III

When Yoshi got the call, he dropped whatever he was doing (so much for a relaxing afternoon tea) and immediately rushed to the apartement next to his home.

He braced himself at the door, psyching himself to be ready for whatever happened at the other side.

Yoshi was usually good at keeping his composure. It easily evaporated at the sight of obviously distressed Mikey, who immediately brightened but no less panicked in his presence. "Finally!" Mikey pulled his arm, dragging him inside.

In the living room, Donnie was sitting with a box of tissue in his lap, Raph pacing in front of him and Leo watched everything with steeled gaze. Out of all three of them, Donnie looked the most relieved to see him.

"What happened?" he demanded. Raph had refused to explain it over the phone and simply asked him to come over. This had to be very important because, first of all, the Spliterson brothers never used the phone, they usually just showed up unannounced. Second, they never asked for help, ever. Their apparent refusal to depend on other people was honestly very concerning but everytime Yoshi did as much as hinted to offer adult assistance on their young life, they-Leo, especially-made this obvious expression of sick withdrawal. Yoshi never really understood why.

"Splinter," Donnie said, looking exasperated. "Please tell my brothers that I don't need medical help."

"Hamato-san," Leo stepped up. "Please help us to convince Donnie to go to hospital."

"What?" He squinted at Donnie, who looked remotely okay except for the dark circles under his eyes.

"He keeps having nosebleed," Raph said. He looked even more agitated than usual, giving off the impression of a wild stray cat.

Donnie scowled. "I am fine. I am just a little stressed out."

"And very exhausted," Leo remarked with a frown. "This is why I told you-"

There was a new set of edge in Donnie's jaw now, his eyes lit up. He looked very much like a taller Raph at the moment, which honestly was not a very good sign. Leo must have noticed it too because he immediately backtracked. "I mean, you haven’t been resting well, Donnie."

Donnie laughed coldly.

Yoshi exchanged a glance with Mikey, who looked every bit as uncomfortable as he felt.

"What about you, huh?" Donnie got up and advanced on his older brother, backing Leo to the wall. The sight of the oldest brother visibly cowering in the face of Donnie’s rare display of fury would have been funny if Yoshi didn’t feel like running away himself. "You literally collapsed a week ago, in this very same room!"

"You _what_?!" Yoshi's jaw dropped. He didn't know that.

Leo's lip thinned. _Crap_ , he was in one of those mood where he was emotionally inequipped to deal with his brother's nonsense. "It's not relevant right now."

As if things couldn't get any worse, Mikey chimed in for the first time. "Leo, you're being a hypocrital little shellhole."

"Shut up, Mikey," both Leo and Donnie growled.

"Mikey, stay out of this," Raph interjected with a glare. "And you're really not one to talk."

And just as their luck, of course it had to be today that Mikey's stubborness came in full force. "Excuse _you_ , I am not the bossy workaholic in this house."

"No," Raph's piercing stare was withering. Any other ordinary day, Mikey would have stayed away. "You're the one with digestive issue."

Mikey bristled and Yoshi really didn't like the anger building up in his eyes.

"Hello? Pot to kettle?" The youngest sneered, every words laced with venom. "What, so you can have insomnia and still handle everything right while I only have stomachace and suddenly I am not even allowed to control what I eat?"

This was not just random angry outbursts, Yoshi realized regrettably too late. No, it probably had been brewing for a long time. Every now and then, there would always be some sort of tense atmosphere between the brothers.

They never once brought it up in front of him, but just because it was never spoken out loud before didn't mean there was never anything going on. Yoshi knew this. He knew these boys and each of their issues like the back of his hand. Raphael with his lack of self-esteem, Leonardo with his crippling fear, Donatello with his doubts, and Mikey with his burdensome worries.

He had been under the assumption that they all had it under control. Evidently, he had been wrong.

Looking at Leo, red-faced in his anger, and Donnie who was now too busy cleaning up the blood dripping from his nose and then glancing at Raph and Mikey and their emotionally-invested shouting match, Yoshi had to face the fact that he had been overstimating their self-dependence.

The boys didn't make it easy to see past their maturity, but it was no excuse.

"Mr. Hamato."

Yoshi whirled around to see Eva Spliterson standing behind. "Would you like some tea?"

"I-" he sighed. "Yes, I heard you're good at making green tea?"

When he stepped out of the room, he could hear Raph's voice booming. "You're such a control freak!"

And a few beats later, Leo echoed indignantly, "I am just-"

The rest of the sentence was drowned by unhappy voice of his brothers.

Eva blinked very slowly, and having been knowing her for a long time, Yoshi knew that it was the equivalent of face-palm on normal human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yoshi will do his best to help the brothers but first of all, he needs his tea.


	11. Enemy

**I**

Donnie came across the brochure on complete accident. He wasn’t even looking for it. He just happened to pass the school board and catch the familiar name on the paper. It made him immediately stopped in his track and Casey who had been walking two steps behind bumped into his back.

Casey didn’t protest, instead he followed his gaze.

“A science seminar?” Casey glanced between the board and him. “What’s wrong, Donnie?”

Nothing was wrong. What was the probability of wrong things to happen in this world? The Foot Clan didn’t bother them, Hamato Yoshi was happy with his wife and daughter, and the Purple Dragon had been very quiet.

Compared to them, _he_ should be the least of his worry.

Donnie snatched the paper anyway. Casey didn’t question it.

Later, he showed it to his brothers at the cafetaria. Raph only gave it a brief glance before focusing back to his food.

“You _knew_ ,” Donnie realized bitterly. He didn’t mean for the words to sound so accusing. Raph’s eyes quickly flared up in respond.

“It’s just _him,_ Donnie,” he spat out.

“Maybe, it’s just a lousy prank from him,” He clenched his trembling hands. “Or maybe, you just want to keep playing house!”

He half-expected Raph to punch him right then and there. Raph did worse. He walked away.

Donnie didn’t have to see Leo’s disapproving look to know that he’d screwed up. Badly.

“Apologize to him later, Donnie,” Leo said, his voice was neutral but still, Donnie could feel his disappointment rolled off each of his words. “But, for now, we’ll deal with this guy.”

“Donnie,” Mikey said, his voice sad. “Don’t be so hard on Raph. He just wants the best for us.”

Donnie knew that too. It was still surprising that out of all four of them, it was Raph who eventually liked their new normal life the most, and yet in a way, it fit his personality perfectly. But for Donnie, who worked hard to find a way to bring them home, it still felt like a betrayal.

Mikey patted his back.

.

.

**II**

For the tenth time that day, Leo looked back on how it all started and thought to himself, _This is stupid_.

He skipped his part-time job for _this_.

His left arm was broken and his right foot was bleeding, his movements had become restricted. When the mousers catched up to him, he couldn’t just rely on skill and strenght anymore. They were _vicious_ , even more than the ones Leo remembered. He had to keep his guard up.

He knew that. There was something about this place, though, that made him want to curl to himself and close his eyes.

The sewer reeked and the sound of water droplets was almost distracting, but Leo was strongly reminded of home.

.

.

**III**

Mikey didn’t know how to be intimidating. It was the job of his brothers. Sure, he could knock adult twice his size but to deliberately scare them off was another thing. People saw Mikey and thought of him as a harmless little ball of fun.

Even Donnie, the kind, gentle Donnie, knew how to make people piss their pants off if he wanted to.

But Donnie was busy shutting down the mousers that currently chasing down their brothers.

Before their mission started, Leo had mentioned, way too casually, that there was a possibilty of death if they weren’t careful. None of them took it seriously, Mikey had thought he was joking.

 _“He’s different from the other one,”_ Leo had said, then with a scrunched up face, he continued. _“This isn’t going to be fun.”_

As usual, Leo was right.

He thought of his brothers, probably bleeding to death somewhere all alone in this city.

“Baxter Stockman,” he said, putting on his deepest voice and angriest expression he could muster, it wasn’t hard. “Remember, we are _watching you_. And if my partners don’t come back alive from your stunt, I am going to find you and make sure you regret it for the rest of your life.”

He wished that he wasn’t wearing a mask. He wanted Baxter Stockman to look at him in the eyes to see how serious he was, to see the satisfaction on his face when the man whimpered in fear.

Mikey didn’t know how to be intimidating, but it was irrelevant when his brother’s safety was concerned.

.

.

**IV**

Raph was halfway to city’s borders when the mousers shut down. He cleaned up the mess and dumped them with the trash.

By the time he got home, Leo was lying in the couch, his arms messily wrapped in bandage, Mikey was sleeping on the floor, snoring softly, and Donnie was half-lying in the chair with his head and his feet propped up in the armrest, writing a note with such intensity as if his life was depended on it. They all looked bruised up and battered and the sight made Raph wanted to punch someone in the face.

“Raph, you’re okay?” Leo asked. He didn’t get up from his position, which mean he was actually way worse than he looked. _Typical_.

Donnie looked up at him and Raph paused, feeling a little awkward now that the adrenaline had left his system.

“ _When this is all over, don’t forget to apologize, okay?_ ” Leo had whispered to him before they infiltrated Stockman’s home. Raph didn’t forget.

He crossed the room, avoiding Donnie’s eyes, and put down a mouser that mostly still intact to the table.

“For me?” Donnie asked, eyes widened.

Raph didn’t say anything more.

Leo was smiling, looking unordinarily pleased. Raph wanted to punch him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been wondering if I should continue the part 2 hey there kids with guns or delete it. First of all, I am not sure I can keep up the motivation to finish it. Second, since it’s about the ’07 movie, I am not sure if any of you watch it, I heard it’s a flop in box office. But at this point, I am already commited. What do you think, guys?


	12. Journey

I Leo didn’t know how to take a vacation

The idea was completely random. Leo didn’t even know where it came from. But, by the time his mind registering the words he just said, his brothers were looking up at him brightly. It was already too late to take it back.

His brothers took his advice seriously like they did with his orders. Three small bodies hunched together, a map spread open in the table. Donnie suggested going to Museum. Raphael wanted to go to Amusement Park. Mikey, the genius he was, combined the idea together and managed to convince them to a Road Trip.

Three days later, with Hamato Yoshi’s car and Eva in the driving seat, they took off for their summer vacation, the very first vacation they ever had, period.

It would be a lie if Leo said he wasn’t excited. In fact, he was very happy, he was the one suggesting this, after all. But, Leo looked at shadow and still expected an ambush, years of training and fighting on the street still left its mark. And they were practically the universe’s chew toy.

Leo couldn’t rule out the possibility that their house would be wrecked when they went home, Hamato Yoshi could have went missing, the world might be facing an invasion as they played around-

“Relax, bro,” Mikey said, grinning. “It’s going to be fun!”

“Fun,” Leo repeated, grinning back, even though his stomach churned. He ruffled Mikey’s hair. “Yeah, of course, Mikey.”

.

.

II Mikey marveled the wonders of the beach

Mikey knew beaches. He’d seen it many times before, but only through television and Donnie’s computer. To see it up close was apparently quite different. The beach up close wasn’t as beautiful as all the photos and movies making it to be. It was only about sands and the water and _oh_ -

It felt like a dream but the wind tickling his hair felt too real. He ended up frozen in his spot.

He looked down at his hands. _Not green_. He clenched it a few times just to be sure.

“Come on, Mikey,” Raph playfully punched his shoulder, his tone teasing. “It’s not’s like it’s the first time we see the sunrise.”

“No,” Mikey said, his throat felt really dry. “I am glad.”

He couldn’t say it in the presence of Donnie, who still looked for a way to go home, and Leo who missed their old life more than any of them, but he could share this with Raph.

Raph’s grin turned awkward. “Don’t cry, little brother.”

Mikey stiffled a laugh. Raph had never been good with feelings.

.

.

III Donnie searched for happiness

They spent the first day in the Museum and Amusement Park and stayed the night in a cheap motel. The next day, they went to the beach in early morning to catch the sunrise (and what a beautiful sight it was).

Now, they took a rest and had lunch in a small restaurant in some countryside. The internet had recommended this place and the reviewers had proved themselves to have great taste. Donnie took this chance to muse over their travelling plan, Leo was sitting in front of him with a warm coffee in hand. Mikey and Raph went off to explore around, EV4 accompanying them.

“We should be able to arrive at the fair in-“ he checked his watch. “-three hours.”

Leo nodded.

A poster in the wall behind him catched Donnie’s eyes. “Hey, there’s going to be a circus tour!”

Leo turned around to see the poster. “Oh, it’s the day after tomorrow.”

The request was already in the tip of his tongue but the tired lines on Leo’s face made him hold back. Leo seemed to catch it anyway.

“What do you think, Donnie?” Leo said, grinning. “Wanna add it to our list?”

“Ah, but I don’t think we should waste times in this trip any longer,” Donnie said, wincing a little at how wistful he sounded.

“Oh, but we’re not wasting times,” Leo said in dismissive tone. “I am sure Raph and Mikey will like it.”

 _What about you?_ Donnie stared. “Okay,” he finally said.

In the end, he didn’t regret coming to the circus. Leo’s eyes had glowed in a way he hadn’t seen for a long time.

.

.

IV Raph looked forward to tomorrow

By the time they went home, Raph’s stomach was aching with laughter and his cheeks were tired from smiling too much, Leo’s head was leaning againts his shoulder, Mikey was snoring peacefully at his left. Occasionaly, Donnie who sat at the front seat turned around and snap a picture, giggling devilishly. With those two sleeping, the drive back home was quiet.

When they arrived, he had to carry Leo piggyback-style inside while Donnie took care of Mikey beause neither of them had the heart to wake their brothers up.

But, both Raph and Donnie were tired too. They ended up leaving their sleeping brothers in the living room because they couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t drop them on the stair.

“We should do this again,” Raph said.

He regretted saying it out loud then. There was never any guarantee that they would stay here forever. Despite what his brother thought of him, if Donnie ever managed to find the way back to their home, Raph would follow them even through hell and back.

And even if they ended up staying, Donnie and Leo would be devastated. Leo was too attached to their old life and Donnie already spent so much time and energy for his home-project. It was possible that they would never be the same.

The future seemed to be tainted with regrets.

“We definitely should,” Donnie unexpectedly said, his eyes bright, surprising Raph with his child-like sincerity.

Raph smiled, savoring this moment as much as he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I’m more of a stay-at-home-and-watch-anime kind of guy but I do enjoy going on a vacation trip every now and then. Also today might be the last day of Ramadhan. Yippe


	13. Helping Hand

I Help

At lunch, Casey usually hang out with his hockey teammates, but sometimes he came over to eat with Spliterson brothers either because he felt sane enough to deal with Spliterson’s brand of absudity or in some rare case, because he needed capable hands to solve his problem.

Today, it was because of the later.

Five feet away from the table, Mikey looked up and waved at him, gesturing at the empty seat beside him. Casey waved back, smiling wryly. One of these days, he’d convince everyone that the quadruplet were actually some kind of runaway mutants with spider-sense. It was practically impossible to get closer undetected.

“Casey,” Leo greeted. “Is everything okay?”

Casey blinked. “Are you sure you’re not with X-Men?”

The brothers exchanged amused glance, as if sharing a private joke.

“You seem troubled,” Leo offered.

There really was no point in hiding anything from Leo, so Casey went straight to the core of his issues. “It’s my friend. She went missing.”

Raph frowned. “Have you called the cops?”

Casey shook his head. “It’s more complicated than that,” he looked around, making sure nobody listened, before he bent down a little, whispering, “She’s involved with the Purple Dragon.”

It was almost unnoticeable, but Casey managed to catch the shifts on the atmosphere. Outwardly, none of them changed their expression, but he knew them long enough to know that he had their full attentions.

Raph raised an eyebrow. “She’s selling drugs?”

Leo elbowed him none too gently. “Raph,” he glared.

“Leo, I am not going to save a criminal,” Raph grunted, glaring back.

“What if she’s not?” Mikey butt in, sticking out his tongue at his hothead brother. He turned at Casey. “She’s not, isn’t she?”

He grimaced. “Not really, I guess.”

“No,” Raph crossed his arms. “No offense, Casey-“

“None taken-“

“But we already have our shares with the Purple Dragon-“

“And whose fault is that?” Donnie murmured, not looking up from his book. Raph looked like he wanted to shove the book up his nose.

“-Not to mention the exams are coming-“

“Since when do you care about exams?” Mikey asked skeptically.

“And your friend probably doesn’t want to be saved anyway,” he ended with a stab to his bread, glaring at Casey as if daring him to object. Casey gulped.

Raph made good points. Casey knew that he was asking too much from his friends who, despite their day-to-day excellent performance, were nothing but ordinary kids. What Raph pointed did cross his mind.

But time was ticking and his friend still didn’t call. He lowered his head, musing over his choices to either kneel and beg or just go storm Purples Dragon’s headquarter on his own and maybe left a suicide note in case no one found his body. The former sounded appealing the more he thought about it.

He was about to bend his body and do a japanese dogeza-a move he learned from youtube-when he catched Leo’s determined eyes.

“You’re asking this because you know that she’s in trouble, aren’t you?” Leo asked, frowning.

Casey nodded stiffly.

Raph tsked. “Fine, we’ll help.”

.

.

II Question

The Purple Dragon had a fighting competition every Monday nights. The winner got a prize and respect, and more importantly, the authority to order the low-ranking members. Fong himself never dreamed of joining the fight but it was also his easy source of money. So long as he bet on the right winner, he could just sit back and receive his weekly income.

Today, his bet was on Xever, the new member who was rumoured to have affiliation with the Foot Clan. Betting on him was risky. First of all, since everybody here was aware of his role as a dog of the Foot, he had big target on his back. Second, he was a great fighter but he relied more on dirty tricks. Fong didn’t see how he could use those tricks on the ring.

But, betting on his opponent seemed even riskier. The other competitor had short stature, probably just a lost young boy who was desperate for the prize. He stepped up into the ring, no sign of nervousness in his body. Fong eyed him critically, _young and foolish_. He himself was young too, but he knew how to value his life.

The kid put down his hoodie, reavealing a clean pretty face half-hidden behind a pair of glasses. He looked like a weak defenseless nerd.

Fong was about to put down Xever’s name when he noticed the man’s face. Xever looked... oddly nervous.

“May I sit here?” Somebody sat beside him without waiting for Fong’s answer. He peered over his choice. “Oh? You want to bet on Don?”

“Mind your own business,” he snapped. The one who sat behind was probably a young boy as well, judging from his height. He was wearing a jacket, a hoodie thrown over his head so Fong couldn’t see his face properly, but he catched a pair of startling blue eyes.

“The guy over there is my brother,” he pointed at Don. “We’re new here. We just want to make some friends.”

 _Friends_ , Fong scoffed the words in his mind. These brats were looking for stepping stones or someone they could latch into as parasites.

“Tell me, is your brother any good?”

The kid grinned. “He’s the best.”

He sounded confident. No, not confident. _Cocky_.

Fong shrugged and decided to place his bet on the kid. Better some snot-nosed brat than a Foot dog.

“So,” the kid beside him said coversationally as the fight started. “We’re looking for a girl. Her name’s Angel.”

Fong eyed him suspiciously. “Why are you looking for her?”

“She ran away with my money,” he answered easily. Fong winced sympathetically. It was often the case with the gang members here. Most of them joined in because they ran away from something.

“Is that why you’re here?” He asked, curious.

“I also happen to be broke,” the kid answered. “Have nowhere else to go.”

His voice softened at the last words.

“You’re really unfortunate,” Fong said. “I have good news and bad news for you, pal.”

“Yeah?” he tilted his head. He looked anxious. Poor kid. No wonder his brother joined the fight with his life on the line. They had no money, no home, and nobody to help them. Fong knew the feeling too well.

“Your money won’t come back to you,” Fong continued. “But the girl that stole your money is suffering worse fate as we speak.”

The kid’s eyes went wide. Fong didn’t have time to analyze his expression because the winner was announced. He looked back at the ring.

Xever was on the ground. In the center, his young opponent examined his fist, looking rather bored even as the audience started cheering for him. Somehow, in a few minutes Fong looked away, Don had beaten Xever to submission and even walked away without a scratch.

“Who are-“

When he turned to the seat beside him, Don’s brother already gone.

.

.

III Rescue

Angel groaned. She could really use a drink right now. The light filtering through the window reach her eyes, temporarily blinding her a moment. She’d basked in the faint warmth as much as she could. She was so wrapped up in her blessing that she noticed the other guy only when he spoke up.

“Are you the Angel?”

She snapped at him, gaping. “What-“

“Wait, it sounds like I am hitting on you,” he said with a frown. He looked young, still clean and healthy. Probably just got thrown out here when she was sleeping. They seemed to be about the same age. It didn’t made her feel better.

“You have to run away,” she said, her throat raspy. She felt like it had been forever since she talked with another human being. “This place isn’t good. They’re going to take you far away-“

“I know,” he cut in. He didn’t sound concerned at all. “Casey’s looking for you.”

“Casey...” She felt her throat closed up. Casey, his goofus loyal childhood friend who probably had been worrying himself sick with her sudden disappearance. “Tell him I am sorry.”

“No way. You can tell him yourself,” he said, grinning now. “Don’t worry, my brothers coming. I let myself get captured on purpose, you see. But I have a tracker on me. They’ll definitely come.”

“You...” She stared. When he mentioned _brothers_ , she just realized why his face looked familiar. And those baby blue eyes... “Are you Michelangelo Spliterson?”

Spliterson’s grin widened.

Distantly, she swore she heard something exploded.

.

.

IV Concern

Karai was the first who heard what happened from Xever’s mouth. She went straight to Leo who usually ate in Murakami’s place at this time. When she arrived at the small restaurant, the other brothers were there too. She bit her lips hovering at the entrance.

Michelangelo and Leonardo weren’t a problem, but Donatello and Raphael were still cautious around her. Raphael was downright violent. Karai was quite sure if Leo weren’t around, Raphael would have buried her body. She swallowed her nervousness and entered in.

Leo quickly picked up her presence. “Karai,” he greeted politely. Raphael immediately tense up beside him.

“Ah, the Foot princess,” he said cockily. “Here to get your butt kicked too?”

She ignored him, sitting down on Leo’s left. Raphael glared at her over Leo’s shoulder. “What is it, Karai?”

“I heard everything,” she said, turning her attention at Michelangelo. “Are you okay, Michelangelo?”

“Huh?” He blinked, surpised that all the attention now focused on him. “I am totally fine. They didn’t do anything.”

“You were about to be sold,” Karai choked. “How can you be fine?”

“It’s alright,” Michelangelo squirmed, looking uncomfortable. “We save Casey’s friend and put a stop to the human trafficking business. It’s an absolute win. You’re overreacting.”

“No,” Leo spoke up, his tone solemn. “Karai’s right. I knew I shouldn’t have come up with that plan.”

“Leo,” Michelangelo took a deep breath. “We already talked about this.”

“We live in different world now, Mikey,” Leo said, glaring at his youngest brother. “We should be more careful.”

“Listen to the leader, Mikey,” Raphael said, indignant. “And next time, don’t run on your own. You too,” he added, nodding toward Donatello’s direction.

“Me?” Donatello scoffed. “I made sure that his plan was safe! You guys are the one who didn’t want to listen to him!”

“Somethings wrong,” She brought up a hand to her forehead, messaging her temple. The conversations around her immediately stopped. “This isn’t right.”

Leo put his hand on her shoulder, his touch gentle and soothing. “Karai, I think you should rest.”

Karai nodded stiffly. She left without another words. She didn’t know how to explain this unsettled feeling in her chest. The reactions the brothers gave her... It was abnormal. That was not how you act after your brother almost gotten himself sold like friggin’ goods.

She always forgot that despite Michelangelo’s cheery disposition and Leo’s honorable attitude, the brothers probably had seen their fair share of horrors on the street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another action-packed chapter. Angel is actually a character from the IDW comic book.


	14. Escapism

I Mountain

Since Splinter’s death, Leo had tried to run away twice. Both times he only came back because his brothers dragged him back, fighting him all the way to the lair. Raph had to knock him three times to make sure he didn’t slip out of their watch. They were quite selfish, his little brothers, but Leo supposed he too was selfish for running away.

His brothers were nothing if not adaptable, everytime Leo had the tiniest urge to run, they would drape themselves all over him, clinging to him like a lifeline before the thought of escaping could settle in.

After being thrown into entirely another universe, only one time Leo ever sneaked out of the safety of their new home. He thought about disappearing, about secluding himself far in the deepest part of a mountain.

When he came back, his brothers didn’t leave his side for weeks. They must have noticed his moods, his despair over the stranger New York and their stranger bodies. It made him all the more guilty for even considering leaving them behind.

.

.

II Bruise

Raph always ran away after a nasty fight one with his brothers, usually with Leo and Donnie, though sometimes he had pissing match with Mikey as well. Nobody could make a big deal out of it because he always punched anyone who tried. And unlike in Leo’s case, his brothers knew with certainty that he would return.

It used to be rare occurence before, but without Splinter’s guidance, nobody anchored his anger, no one to tell him he’d gone too far and to fix his mistake. Leo certainly didn’t have enough authority to rule over his emotion.

But human body was fragile, Raph found the hard way. When he landed a punch, the bruise last longer and some scars didn’t fade.

He tried to reign in his angers. He listened close to Leo’s orders and Donnie’s scientific ramblings and Mikey’s laughs and he knew that he shouldn’t take them for granted anymore. He couldn’t afford to run away.

.

.

III Cocoon

Donnie’s version of running away was to lock himself up in the lab and never came out. He buried himself deep in his projects and pretended nothing could hurt him. If he was allowed to, he’d lived alone his lab for eternity.

Splinter never let him and after his death, Leo took up the mantle.

His brothers never let him running away too long.

It didn’t matter how many times Donnie scorned them and mocked them and hurt them, they’d always make sure he came out of his _cocoon_ , as Mikey called it.

.

.

IV Moon

Mikey tried to run away once back when New York was invaded by alien force. After that, he made sure to stay, to be there for Leo when his anxiety hit him, to be by Raph’s side when he returned from his venture, and to keep Donnie’s company when he refused to come out of his lab.

He hoped it compensated enough for his ignorant outlook, for letting Leo took all the responsibilty, for watching Raph charged ahead from the sidelines, for uselessly sitting around as Donnie fixed up their messes.

Mikey hated it. If he’d grown up sooner, then maybe he spared everyone else’s misery.

Being born back in a tiny body felt like a second chance for him. He didn’t want to waste it. He made sure to follow Leo’s order, to soothe Raph’s reckless fury, to coach Donnie back to sleep when the resident mad scientist pulled an all-nighters.

But, sometimes, he indulged himself a little piece of quiet. He climbed up to the roof and watched the moon and let the silence washed over him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter addresses their character flaws from the show and how they overcome it.   
> Also, I heard about what’s happening over there. Pretty sure everybody know. Man, ever since the pandemic hit, I feel like I’ve seen the humanity’s ugly side in full face. I hope everything’s get better soon. Sending love from across the sea<3


	15. Vacation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two of Journey because I don’t write enough fluff. This is what happens in-between their first vacation

“This is Ice Cream Kitty,” Donnie pointed at the cat currenly purring in Mikey’s lap. “That one is Klunk,” he pointed at another cat curled around Mikey’s feet. He shoved the glass box containing Mikey’s little alligator toward Splinter’s open hands. “This one’s Leatherhead.”

To his credit, Splinter didn’t react at all, Donnie couldn’t see anything except understanding and acceptance in his face. He didn’t even flinch when Leatherhead opened his mouth, revealing growing sharp teeth.

On the other hand, it was Raph and Leo who looked reluctant. Raph hesitated before giving Spike to Tang Shen who cooed at the pet turtle.

Leo fidgeted. “We’re sorry for the inconvenience.”

“It’s alright, Leonardo,” Splinter reassured him. “We can take care of them.”

None of them was convinced. Mikey looked guilty, “Maybe I’ll just bring Leatherhead with me-“

“No!” Miwa snapped, startling everyone in the room. “You will have this vacation and you’re going to _enjoy_ it.”

It was always bothering him how kind the Hamato family was despite the ties that only exist in their previous live.

Leo still looked uneasy but in the face of Splinter’s unwavering serenity, he relented. “Okay, call us if something happens.”

“We can handle this, thank you,” Miwa rolled her eyes. Donnie looked away. Ever since the first year of middle school, she’d grown sharp tongue and flippant attitude, resembling their Karai so much that it was hard to look at her sometimes.

Leo blinked. “Okay, I believe you.”

.

.

Before his brothers could climb the car, Mikey pulled Leo’s arm, causing his oldest brother to glance up (because Mikey had grown two inches taller than him this year) in confusion.

“Leo, don’t bring your swords,” he said, glancing pointedly at the guitar case innocently lumped with their luggage. “What kind of fifteen-years-old bring swords to the beach?”

Leo opened his mouth, seemingly going to argue, before closing it with a wry smile. He carried the guitar case back inside the house.

That went surprisingly well. He whirled to Donnie next. “And you shouldn’t bring your laptop.”

Donnie frowned. “But, I-“

“No means no, Donnie.”

He spent the next ten minutes arguing with his stubborn brother to leave his laptop behind until Leo got back, saw the commotion, and came between them.

“Donnie, you will leave your laptop for this vacation,” Leo said in his leading tone.

“Fine,” Donnie said. He stuck a tongue out toward Mikey. “But you owe me ice cream.”

Mikey beamed at him, grabbing Raph’s arm, “Alright, we’re ready for our summer vacation!”

.

.

When Leo went back to motel from the grocery store, Raph and Donnie were still in his rented room completely awake. Raph was watching the TV with interest and Donnie was writing something, looking completely focused. Mikey was asleep with cards scattered in the bed. Leo guessed he fell asleep halfway to their poker game.

He sat beside Raph and pulled out the snacks he bought.

“So, you really go to the grocery store,” his little brother muttered.

Leo understood his distrust. Even now, he had to resist not practicing kata with all his might. He ignored Raph’s jab and called out to Donnie, gesturing him to sit with them.

Donnie looked at the note in his hands, then at the TV, before finally sliding off his seat to join them.

Leo peered over his note. “If Mikey see it, he’s going to have a fit.”

“Don’t tell him, he already consficated my tablet,” Donnie said, rubbing his face tiredly.

Raph growled. “I won’t tell him if you promise me to stop working on your project.”

Donnie casted a long glance at him before huffing his breath in annoyance. “Fine.”

It was the second time Leo heard him say that in petulant tone today.

“Who wants ice cream?” he announced before the atmosphere could get weird.

“Me,” Mikey mumbled, half-awake. Donnie jumped a little at his voice. Their youngest brother sat up, squinting at Raph and dazedly asked, “Raph, do you know you have a clone?”

Leo snickered. “Come here, little brother. Let’s watch a movie together.”

.

.

“Whoa,” Mikey said with wide-eyed wonder. “You usually don’t let me eat this much sugar.”

Raph snorted, dumping the cake, the chocolates, and two big wrapped-up cotton candies to his side. Mikey picked one of the chocholate and ate it in four big bites. “After that one disastrous trip to the dentist? I’d rather not repeat that experience ever again.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched Leo and Donnie approached them, carrying crepes in each of their hand. Leo’s eyes immediately zeroed to the amount of unhealty treats stacked up between them in their seat, but thankfully didn’t comment on it.

“Here,” Donnie gave one of the crepes in his hand to Mikey who eagerly took it with sparkles in his eyes.

“What should we ride next?” Leo asked, his eyes gleaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Klunk is Mikey’s cat from the 2003 series. Once again, I remind you, I don’t know much about the series, but I’ve read enough tmnt fanfics to know that Mikey has a cat he loves dearly. Funny that most good tmnt fics I find is from the ’03 series :3


	16. Through Time

I

The first few months of their foreign life, they slept together in the big empty house, a thing they hadn't done since they were six. Growing apart, they had wanted their own bed, feeling too embrassed to sleep together again.

But now they were lost, trapped in human bodies that didn't belong to them, stranded in a universe out of nowhere. It was only natural that they started feeling more than attached, getting way too dependent.

Night after night, Leo let Mikey pulled his arm to the bed, feeling Raph's breath againts his back as he lied on his side, watching the side profile of Donnie's face. At the moment, they only had each other.

They clung to each other like a lifeline, tearing themselves apart and Leo watched everything unfolded the way he waited for candle to completely burn.

Sighing in the darkness, Leo turned to lie on his back, staring at the ceiling and missing the rocky feeling of his shell.

.

.

II

Donnie felt a tap in his shoulder and turned around to face Mikey in surprise. They usually went straight to bed after training session, too tired to even utter a good night.

"Don, help me with homework?"

He could refuse. Exhausted as he was, there were still piled of unfinished sketch and unsolved mechanical formula waiting for him at his desk. The sooner he took care of them, the sooner they could leave behind this painful charade of normality.

"Donnie," Raph interrupted before he could shake his head. "Help me with my homework too."

Raph didn't look at his eyes, fidgeting. It must have hurt his pride to admit that he needed help. Knowing that, Donnie hold back from snapping at them.

It had only been a week since they started their elementary class, but looking at them now, one wouldn’t have thought they never experienced school before. His brothers adapted so quickly to their human life that it made him uneasy.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he catched Leo's eyes watching them, leaning againts the wall with crossed arm. On impulse, he asked, "What about you, Leo? Wanna join us?"

It took a while before Leo finally answered, "I already finished mine," At Mikey's slumped shoulder, he quickly added. "But I could help if you want."

And when they went out of the training room, Donnie let Raph and Mikey led him to the couch, falling in line with Leo's easy step.

A small part of him whispered he could get used to this, if only to see his brothers happy.

.

.

III

Donnie went out with April again today. Mikey would have teased him if he currently wasn't going out with a girl himself. He didn't tell his brothers but knowing his luck, Donnie would have found out seconds after he left home. He was pretty sure Leo and Raph already know, if their teasing smile was anything to go by.

Not that there was anything to be teased about. It was not a date, there was nothing official about it, unlike Raph and Mona had been (even though Raph kept denying it).

Mikey just wanted someone to go with him to the Comic-Con and his brothers already made a plan. Renet seemed like the practical choice, there was nothing else to it.

Besides, he still had a hard time adapting to the human life. He suspected he could never get used to the feeling of sun againts his skin, walking under the vast sky without the shadow backing him up, knowing that when he looked at the mirror, a stranger looked back.

Donnie had given him a strange look when he admitted it.

"I think you'll be fine, Mikey," his brother had said.

And looking at Renet laughing with him, surrounded by normal people instead of enemies, Mikey was starting to believe him.

.

.

IV

"It has been, what- five years?" Mikey asked and Raph paused in the middle of sharpening up his sai. Mikey rarely talked about the past. He talked about Casey and April sometimes but to directly mention their life-changing point, he'd never done that before.

"Five years," Raph confirmed. Now they were physically the same age as the time they went topside for the first time.

It was still funny how things changed. Back then, they had argued for every little things, Splinter was still alive, Alien was threatening the planet.

Being sent to different universe had opened up new perspectives and Raph had learned through the absence of laser beam and thrown shurikens.

"Do you think we'll ever go home?" Mikey asked. He looked around before finally admitting with low voice, "I don't mind staying, though."

Raph couldn't imagine Leo and Donnie minded it. He'd watched them carefully, they were happier here without clan responsility and mutant genetic tackling them down.

But, at the same time, he knew that knowing they couldn't go back to shadows and the sewer would be akin to waking up to a nightmare.

"It doesn't matter, Mikey," Raph said. "We go back or not, as long as we're together, we can handle it."

It sounded way too sappy but it slipped out of his mouth before he could take it back. Mikey hummed, polishing his nunchuk with more energy, the melancholy slipping away from his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allright, ya all, next chapter will be the epilogue, and after that, I'll add some sort of omake. It doesn't mean the story's going to end. I am going to post part 2, containing the failed ideas that didn't make it into the main plot, it will be probably have four or five chapters. I also accept requests if you want (and If I am capable enough to write it down). For now, stay safe <3


	17. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to you who stick around and to my lovely readers who made my day with the commentns.

I hey, there, kids with guns

Leo's dream that night was different. The details were different and the shadows welcoming him was different. It was nice, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel anxious. This was _not_ a dream.

He woke up to the sound of his alarm, his hands reaching out to the ceiling.

It was out of habit that he opened his windows and glanced to the mirror.

The sun outside and Hamato Yoshi waving from the building next door told him all he needed but he still felt like touching his face and looked down to his body. _Yup, still very much a human._

But, then, what was that premonition about?

When he descended down the stair, Raph's head snapped at him, eyes narrowing.

Leo just smiled weakly, shaking his head. He didn't have the answers. Not six years ago, when they woke up confused and naked and different, and certainly not now, dressed in pajamas and hair disheveled.

For some reason, his brothers never stopped looking at him like he had the secrets of universe in his palm.

.

.

II your neighbor complains

They were playing the video game that Casey just gifted them when Leo just suddenly completely stopped moving, letting Raph won by small margin.

"Raph," Leo said slowly. His voice was calm, almost too calm. Raph shivered. "Do you remember that night?"

"What night?"

Leo got up gracefully, a calculated look in his face. It had to be _that_ then. He didn't know whether he should take it as good news or not.

Splinter had premonition of his own death. He had been calm then too. All this time, Raph couldn't squish down the fear that Leo, who had always been dutifully following on Splinter's steps, would do the same. He really hated the days that Leo waking up late. It had been rare occurence and everytime it happened, Raph was always anxious for what Leo had seen.

"We need to talk," Leo said. It was brief but Raph could detect the sense of urgency in his tone.

"I am listening."

"No," the Fearless shook his head. "Call Donnie and Mikey home."

Yeah, Raph was really anxious.

.

.

III but they don’t know

Donnie ditched his tutoring session with Casey as soon as Raph called. Something must have shown in his face because Casey was strangely understanding for once. But then again, he'd been tense for the entire day, snapping at ridiculuous things and jumped at the slightest touch.

When he arrived home, Leo and Raph were sitting in the living room, a tense atmosphere between them.

Raph shook his head at him when he was about to open his mouth.

 _Right_ , Donnie realized, noticing the lack of noise. They still had to wait for Mikey.

He sat down beside Leo, forcing himself to relax, and _waited_.

.

.

IV where they come from

Leo paced around the living room, walking in circles, his calm demeanor started to crumble. "It was a starry night."

Donnie and Raph looked puzzled but Mikey understood immediately. "The most beatiful night we'd ever seen," he said. He had said it then too, at that starry night, and his opinion still didn't change even now.

At his words, Raph's face clicked. Donnie adjusted his glasses, a habit he did when he became nervous.

"There was a shooting star," Leo said, seemingly forcing himself to stay still. He was breathless, Mikey noted. Was it out of excitement or fear? "We made a wish."

 _Oh_ , Mikey thought. And he must have said it out loud because Donnie and Raph were now staring at him. "My wish was to experience normal life."

Donnie's eyes widened. "I wished to be human."

"I wanted to meet Splinter again," Leo said, swallowing.

They all turned to Raph, expectant.

Raph scowled. "I wanted new shoes."

"No, that can't be your wish," Leo said, gritting his teeth. Beside him, Donnie rolled his eyes.

"Fine," Raph snapped. "I wished for us to stay together. Happy now?"

Leo sat down, leaning againts his chair. Now that Mikey looked closely, he could see the tired lines in his face. Leo pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly looking years older than he should. "We wished for this to happen."

"But who-"

"Doesn't matter," Leo said. "It was our wish and we get it."

"Leo," Donnie hesitated. "Are you saying that we are trapped in this world, in this form, forever?"

Leo smiled, broken and utterly histerical. "Yes."

"Oh," Mikey said, again feeling his heart dropped and swallowed by the floor beneath him. "We are kids who can't come home."

"No, Mikey," Leo's voice quivered. "This is our home now."

.

.

V

"Did something happen?" Yoshi asked, concerned.

The Spliterson brothers had stopped coming over sometimes after Oroku Saki visited. They stopped coming completely after Karai showed up for the first time in front of his door.

Tonight, they showed up unannounced and Yoshi had a heavy flashback to the first day he met four tiny children shuffling in front of his door. It was unexpected but not at all unwelcome.

Leo smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "I have a weird dream."

"Nightmare?" Yoshi asked, sympathetic. They all knew well that Leo had a nasty dose of those.

The boy looked down at his chocolate mug, a dazed look in his face, "Yeah, something like that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I stated before that I pick the title on impulse, right? Well now, it feels like the title has finally fit the story. Try to listen to the song, guys! I am going to upload part two before the actual last chapter. I also accept request for this story if ya have any.   
> I am not sure what you expect from the epilogue, but I hope it comes out good. Stay safe, guys!


	18. Extra Scenes

I Alternate Universe-Hogwart

The Spliterson brothers couldn’t be anymore different. Except for their universal fondness for martial arts and sneaking around undetected, nobody would have believed they were quadruplet twins if it weren’t for their identical facial features.

Michelangelo, the youngest, knew everyone and everyone knew him, even those belonged to different houses. Even the Slytherin left him alone and besides the occasional jab at his mysterious parentless heritage, they mostly got along well, he was probably the only one from Hufflepuff who managed to do so.

Donatello was a genius, a title that was hard to earn in a house full of prodigies. He was creative, curious, and innovative. He called himself an inventor and everybody could see why. He mixed his potions, modified his spells, tinkered with his own broom, all for the sake of science. The pureblood looked down on him with disdain, the muggleborn giggled and jokingly called him the Mad Scientist, and the Professors were exasperated with the constant explosion. He was a Ravenclaw through and through.

Raphael was a badass, a true Gryffindor, and they didn’t need to see him wrestling with a troll (long story) to see this. Nothing seemed to faze him. He treated everyone with the same mockingly bored attitude which made the pureblood and the cocky upperclassmen fumed and the other kids left him alone. Still, it didn’t matter how many kids he managed to piss off, nobody ever dared to mess with Raphael.

Leonardo was treated with cautious respect. It was not just because of the Slytherin house he was sorted into. He had this wall hanging around him, unbreakable and untouched. He smiled politely and treated everyone fairly. What would happen if the wall that wasn’t supposed to be broken finally shattered? Nobody wanted to know.

His personality clashed with Michelangelo’s easy-going nature, Donatello’s calculating mind, and Raphael’s brooding figure.

The brothers really couldn’t be anymore different.

.

.

II TMNTxSonic

“-so, yeah, the cat is now safely tucked in my bed,” Sonic finished his story, looking rather solemn. “Tom’s not gonna happy if he found out I save another cat.”

“Ah, so now you’re looking for an owner?” Leonardo asked. “And I assume you’re telling me this to ask for my help?”

Sonic pointed at him with his fork, winking. “Bingo.”

Leonardo smiled in respond, looking rather fond. It was an expression reserved for his brothers and a handful of his closest friends.

Looking at their interaction, Casey ended up blurting, “Are you like, a hero in your past life or something?”

Casey meant it as a joke, but across him Leonardo tensed and Sonic’s ever-present smile faltered. Huh, Angel always said that he needed to learn to shut his mouth. Perhaps she was right.

“Past life?” Leonardo murmured, his tone was light but his posture stayed stiff.

“A hero, huh?” Sonic leaned back, thoughtful.

They went quiet, somehow turning the atmosphere heavy with their suffocating silence. Casey couldn’t help but stare.

Now that he thought about it, they really were similiar. Leonardo was politely humble while Sonic was almost downright cocky but they both were popular and respected and they had this melancholic air around them that made them look worlds apart from everyone else.

And they were undeniably _heroic_.

It was because Sonic was the way he was that Spliterson brothers quickly opened up to him within seconds they met.

.

.

III A Murder Mistery

It had been a long time since Leonardo stumbled upon a crime scene, but this was the first time he’d seen it behind the yellow police line in broad daylight. This was also the first time he faced this while being absolutely clueless.

“Well?”

Raphael tugged at his hat, shadowing his eyes. “The police is still looking for the murderer. There’s no trace left behind.”

“Huh, weird,” Leonardo mused.

Weird was fine. Weird was familiar.

“Donatello and Michelangelo haven’t reported anything yet. What should we do?”

Raph’s stare was heavy againts his back, prickling and pressuring and Leonardo could hear the question he didn’t ask. _Should we get involved?_

Should they?

From public’s point of view, they were just four normal teenagers, disqualified to raise themselves on their own, let alone butting into a crime case that had nothing to do with them.

“Let’s-uh,” he bit his lips. “Let’s just look into it a little bit more.”

Raph didn’t say anything back. Days like this, Leonardo missed the time when Raphael always questioned his orders.

.

.

IV Corona

Mikey didn’t mean to sneak out. He just wanted to go outside for a couple of hours and then went back before his brothers noticed. It should be easy. His brothers were all highly-trained ninja but so was he. He could do this. He felt a little guitly for outright disobeying an order but staying in the house any longer would drive him crazy.

But just as he held the doorknob, somebody patted his shoulder and Mikey froze, feeling very much like a deer caught in daylight.

“Where are you going, Mikey?”

Leonardo’s voice was sweet, it was really incredibly sweet it sent shivers down his spine. He turned around, smiling sheepishly. “I was just-“

His brother was smiling. _Scary_ , it was absolutely scary.

Mikey swiped the sweats off his forehead. “Um, yeah, nowhere. I just wanted to see outside for a second.”

“I see,” Leonardo nodded, then his voice turned soft. “Wanna watch some movies with me?”

He smiled weakly. “Sure, Leo.”

.

.

V TMNTxBatman

The kid, who couldn’t be older than Damian, looked surprisingly calm for someone whose head was held at gunpoint just a few minutes ago. He was smiling, soft baby blue eyes brightening when Dick approached him.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, thank you, Nightwing!” He grinned, talking with a sense of familiarity as if they were old friend who knew each other.

Dick didn’t know this kid.

“Thank you for saving us, Nightwing,” the other kid, whose face was unnervingly identical-a twin, perhaps?-said cautiously. His words and the subtle distate in his expression totally didn’t match. “Let’s go, Mikey.”

“Bye, Nightwing!” Mikey trotted after his brother, waving at Dick. “Hey wait for me, Raph!”

Their first meeting was brief but it sure left an impression.

.

.

VI Turtle-verse

“My name’s Mikey!” Michelangelo, green legs, green hands, and definitely not a human said with a friendly grin. “Don’t worry, you’re safe here! What’s your name?!”

Donnie stared.

“You’re scaring him, Mikey,” Leonardo scolded, also green and not-human. His voice sounded different too. Toward Donnie, his tone turned gentle as if he was talking to a wounded little animal. “Please, don’t freak out. We promise we just want to help you.”

Behind him, Mutant Raphael snorted with crossed hands. “We should just leave him behind.”

“And left him alone and vulnerable in the sewer? That’s cruel, Raph!”

“We don’t even know how he end up there in the first place! He could have been an enemy!”

“Um,” Donnie said, trying to make sense of what was happening (Parallel worlds? Time travel? Dimensional-hopping?). “It’s me, I am Don-“

Then his words caught in throat as another turtle entered the lair, as green as his brothers and the tallest of them all.

“What? What is it? What’s your name?”

“Donald,” he quickly amended. “My name is Donald.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TMNTxSonic probably sounds completely random, and yeah it is, I was completely in love with Sonic when I was writing that. Not because of the movie, not because of the tv series, but because of the comic books. Comic book Sonic is every bit as heroic and as cool as I imagined back when I played the game in elementary school.  
> TMNTxBatman is not random. They have crossover comic book before and there’s even a movie! It’s only natural that I include Batman in this bonus chapter.   
> As for the turtle-verse, i kinda wanted to make it into a full-fledged story, but to write it down is absolutely hard and I got lazy -_-


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